Peniel in Putnam County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Peniel Baptist Church
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 30, 2024
1. Peniel Baptist Church Marker
After preaching in private homes south of Palatka. Samuel T. Stanland and Silas Weeks met with members of the community at Mud Lake to constitute a Baptist church on July 19, 1852. Three days later. Bryant Osteen and Jesse, an enslaved Black man owned by Brother Weeks, were the first congregants to be baptized. Soon after the Civil War. George Weathersbee donated 2 acres of land to build a church on. Construction finished around 1870. In May 1871, the congregation adopted the name "Peniel Baptist Church." In 1905. congregants with a single mule moved the small church. known as "The Chapel," to the east side of Peniel Church Road. On January 14, 1939. Reverend Cecil Underwood. ordained Billy Graham into his evangelistic ministry in this church. In his autobiography. Graham described: "The little white frame church, about four windows long, was hot, and I was nervous." Music evangelist Homer Rodeheaver, who played trombone and preached with Billy Sunday, frequented this church before founding the nearby Rodeheaver Boy's Ranch in 1950. In 1968, members of the congregation came together to build a new sanctuary on the site of the original church. The old chapel was returned to the west side of Peniel Church Road.
A Florida Heritage Site
Erected 2023 by Peniel Baptist Church and the Florida
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is January 14, 1939.
Location. 29° 36.923′ N, 81° 41.98′ W. Marker is in Peniel, Florida, in Putnam County. It is at the intersection of Peniel Church Road and Silver Lake Drive, on the right when traveling south on Peniel Church Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5227 Silver Lake Drive, Palatka FL 32177, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s First Coast. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lt. J.K. (Kay) Larkin Memorial (approx. 3.4 miles away); Ravine State Gardens (approx. 3½ miles away); Native Americans at the River (approx. 3½ miles away); William Bartram Trail (approx. 3½ miles away); Garden Center History (approx. 3½ miles away); Suspension Bridges and Amphitheater (approx. 3.6 miles away); Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial (approx. 3.6 miles away); Saw Palmetto (approx. 3.6 miles away).
Another marker is no longer nearby. The Civil War and the Ravines (was approx. 3.4 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Also see . . . Peniel Baptist Church. (Submitted on January 7, 2025, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 30, 2024
2. Peniel Baptist Church Marker
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 30, 2024
3. Peniel Baptist Church Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 7, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 7, 2025, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 497 times since then and 66 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 7, 2025, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.
